Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday a new plan involving the California National Guard and other agencies to combat the fentanyl crisis in San Francisco.
“It’s definitely a move in the right direction,” said Mayor London Breed. “I have reached out to our governor, I reached to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and others and in fact our governor has responded with what I think is going to be some tremendous support.”
That support comes with an agreement between the California Highway Patrol, California National Guard, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco District Attorney to work together to fight the ongoing crisis.
The collaboration between all four agencies will focus on “dismantling fentanyl trafficking and disrupting the supply of the deadly drug in the city by holding the operators of large-scale drug trafficking operations accountable.”
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“Help from the National Guard and from the CHP coordinating and working with our police department and our DA to help us address the challenges around our open air drug dealing mostly in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods in San Francisco,” said Breed.
The announcement comes just two days after the governor made an unannounced stop in the Tenderloin for a first hand look at the problem.
“We’re taking action,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. "Through this new collaborative partnership, we are providing more law enforcement resources and personnel to crack down on crime linked to the fentanyl crisis, holding the poison peddlers accountable, and increasing law enforcement presence to improve public safety and public confidence in San Francisco.”
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“We make arrests day in and day out but it's really hard to hold ground and we need to get it under control and that's exactly what we plan to do. So we are going to do it in a San Francisco way with San Francisco values but the help is much needed,” said San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott.
He explained what police are facing and made assurances about who will be targeted.
“I want to ensure the public that we are going to police the way we police and that is with dignity and respect and work with our community,” said Scott.
Newsom said the effort would not criminalize those struggling with substance use issues, but rather zeroing in on drug suppliers and traffickers.
Few details were released yet about specifically how the new troops would be used and when this would get underway.
